August 11, 2017

Exciting close up with Roe Deer

Roe doe only 10 feet from me, attracted by a Buttolo call.

The European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) is now a common species here in the UK. When I was growing up in the 1950's they were rare and now it always excites me when I see one. Whilst trying to photograph the woodpeckers in Haldon Forest recently, I have regularly encountered them and I decided to make an effort to get some good photographs. I purchased a Buttolo call which is basically a squeaky toy that imitates the voice of the Deer. I had seen this on You Tube and it looked very promising. When the package arrived in the post I couldn't wait to try it out. I was quite optimistic but sceptical to be honest, but I had nothing to lose. I arrived in the forest yesterday morning and as luck would have it a deer was in the distance feeding amongst the long grass. It popped its head up and I froze and then managed to tuck myself behind a stout tree. The doe carried on feeding and with the wind blowing towards me everything was fine. It was time to use the Buttolo call! The first squeak made the doe immediately raise its head and stare in my direction but when I repeated it she put her head down and seemed to ignore me, disappointment! I carried on as per the instructions and what happened next was staggering. Suddenly another doe appeared bounding through the long grass and over the dead branches towards me. Then very purposefully she continued in my direction. She kept coming and kept coming until she was literally just 10 feet from me. She had been attracted to the call which had been imitating a young fawn, they are left in the long grass by their mothers when they go off to feed. Being this close to the doe was a lovely encounter. It made me realise how vulnerable they are and how easy it would be for a poacher to do his worst. I took some lovely frame filling shots with the camera that literally filled the frame as the doe realised I was there and bounded away to relative safety and disappeared from view.

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Exciting close up with Roe Deer

Roe doe only 10 feet from me, attracted by a Buttolo call.

The European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) is now a common species here in the UK. When I was growing up in the 1950's they were rare and now it always excites me when I see one. Whilst trying to photograph the woodpeckers in Haldon Forest recently, I have regularly encountered them and I decided to make an effort to get some good photographs. I purchased a Buttolo call which is basically a squeaky toy that imitates the voice of the Deer. I had seen this on You Tube and it looked very promising. When the package arrived in the post I couldn't wait to try it out. I was quite optimistic but sceptical to be honest, but I had nothing to lose. I arrived in the forest yesterday morning and as luck would have it a deer was in the distance feeding amongst the long grass. It popped its head up and I froze and then managed to tuck myself behind a stout tree. The doe carried on feeding and with the wind blowing towards me everything was fine. It was time to use the Buttolo call! The first squeak made the doe immediately raise its head and stare in my direction but when I repeated it she put her head down and seemed to ignore me, disappointment! I carried on as per the instructions and what happened next was staggering. Suddenly another doe appeared bounding through the long grass and over the dead branches towards me. Then very purposefully she continued in my direction. She kept coming and kept coming until she was literally just 10 feet from me. She had been attracted to the call which had been imitating a young fawn, they are left in the long grass by their mothers when they go off to feed. Being this close to the doe was a lovely encounter. It made me realise how vulnerable they are and how easy it would be for a poacher to do his worst. I took some lovely frame filling shots with the camera that literally filled the frame as the doe realised I was there and bounded away to relative safety and disappeared from view.